Zucchini with Roasted Mushrooms & Tomatoes

Hey everybody!  So it's been quite a long while since I've written a blog post.  Howie & I have been trying out a lot of new recipes and techniques in the kitchen and I realized how much I missed sharing my recipes with others.  Over the summer, my Sunday morning routine included browsing the farmer's market (the one under I-83 in Baltimore) sometimes walking around 2 or 3 times before I made my final selections for the day.  This recipe was inspired by the abundant summer zucchini and the gorgeous little pints of cherry tomatoes of all colors and shapes.

My favorite new toy is the veggie spiralizer.  The less I eat pasta (and get the overloaded carb induced sleepies that follow it) the less I want it.  I've found zucchini noodles to be way more satisfying, flavorful and filling in a good way than any pasta I've ever had (although I've never been to Italy - it's on the list!).  Having yet another gadget in the kitchen is not exactly what I thought I wanted, but it's been completely worth it.  I've gotten so much use out of this thing, usually once or twice a week, and it's small enough to store on a kitchen cabinet shelf when not in use.  Sweet potatoes also work great with this to make crispy & curly sweet potato fries.  The dishes I've been able to make are so good that not just me, but also Howie gobble them down, eyeing up seconds each time.  This is the one that we have:

Just look at these guys - once a veggie now a noodle:

Gorgeous farmer's market tomatoes ready to be chopped up and roasted:

Mouth watering veggies ready for the oven:

We served ours with some grilled chicken and topped the veggies with a hearty dollop of goat cheese.  The cheese starts to melt a bit into the veggies as you eat...delish!

Zucchini with Roasted Mushrooms & Tomatoes

by GreensForMe

• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 pint baby bella or crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced 
• olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 medium zucchinis
• 1 tbsp butter (butter from grass fed cows is the best!)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• grilled chicken or shrimp, optional
• goat cheese or parmesan cheese, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a medium bowl toss the tomatoes, mushrooms and onion and top with about 2 tbsp olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and some salt & pepper.  Give everything a good stir until the veggies are coated and spread on a baking sheet.  Roast for 12-15 minutes, or until tomatoes have burst a bit.

While tomatoes, etc. are roasting, melt some butter into a pan on medium-high heat (love my cast iron) and add garlic to lightly brown.  Spiralize your zucchini right into the pan and use tongs to mix.  Cook your zucchini on medium-high for about 10 minutes, until they soften a little.  I love it when some parts brown up a bit, but zucchini has a lot of liquid so sometimes I've found this hard to accomplish.

Use the tongs to portion zucchini onto plates, top with the tomato mixture and plop a little goat cheese on top if you wish.  Serve with grilled chicken or shrimp if you'd like, but it's really not needed.  This dish stands up very well on its own.  Salud!